Star Trek Nemesis Redux
by Benjamin J Brown
Summary: My attempt at a redux of Nemesis. In the wake of a political upheaval on Romulus, Picard and the Enterprise are dispatched directly from the wedding of Will Riker and Deanna Troi to the Neutral Zone in order to prevent a possible war. However, he will find himself face to face with an old Nemesis. I own nothing.


Neral sat in his office overlooking the capital on Romulus. The Romulan man's face was gaunt, his hair greying, a sign of the stresses his job as Praetor had brought upon him. The rebels attempts at reunification between the Romulan and Vulcan people, led by that damned fool Spock for the last decade. The war with the Dominion and it's aftermath.

He picked up the bottle of Romulan Ale on his desk, pouring himself a glass of the blue liquid. He brought the glass up to his pursed lips, taking in the aroma. He opened his mouth just a fraction, allowing the liquid to slowly flood it.

As he gulped the liquid down, the room was flooded with light as the door behind him opened. The only obstruction was a single silhouette of a Humanoid figure that appeared to be holding something at waist height. The humming sound of a disruptor being armed revealed what the object was.

"Don't turn around." The assailant spoke "Praetor Neral, you have been tried and convicted of high treason by the true council of Romulus. You have colluded with enemies of the state, specifically the Klingon Empire and the Federation. You have failed to arrest the treacherous rebels and their ring leader, the outsider Spock. And most grievously, you have placed your own political gain above the greater good of the Empire. Before sentence is dealt, do you have anything to say?"

"Yes, I do. Something from the literature of our enemies." He said, smirking slightly to himself "Et tu, Brutus?"

There was a sound of panels opening before a number of green bolts lit the room further. Once it stopped, Neral stood up, turning to look down on the form of his would be assailant, now covered in plasma burns from the hidden disruptor turrets. It was the body of Admiral Tebok, a career officer Neral had known for years, the first Commander to make contact with a Federation vessel in over fifty years a decade and a half earlier.

He bent down, inspecting the body for a moment. As he did, there was the sound of a disruptor charging once more. Before he could speak the code phrase once more, a blast of green energy hit him in the chest, taking him to the floor, lifeless.

…

_Captain's Log, Stardate 56505.65._

Enterprise_ is returning from charting gaseous anomalies on the edge of the Alpha Quadrant. After two years of a less than exciting assignment, the crew is understandably anxious for a more exciting assignment. Upon our return to Earth, we were greeted by Starfleet Command with open arms. However, our reception will have to wait. For the time being, there are more pressing matters to attend to._

Jean-Luc Picard stood at the table at the head of the room, wearing his dress uniform, a champagne flute in hand. He raised a spoon, tapping it against his glass.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" He spoke calmly with authority and warmth "Thank you. As you are all aware, I have served as a Starfleet Captain for over forty years. For nearly half of that time, I've had the pleasure of serving with many of you. I am the first to admit, I have, at times, kept the crew at arms length, due to proper etiquette. However, some amongst you I have had the chance to work much more closely with."

He turned slightly to his left, looking down at the large frame of Will Riker next to the petite Deanna Troi, Riker wearing a dress uniform whilst Deanna wore a pink, flowery dress.

"Will Riker, you have been a friend, confidante, and my right arm, for the last fifteen years. Deanna Troi, you have been my conscience and helped me recognise the better and the worse parts of myself. The two of you are my family." Picard continue "And in Best Maritime tradition, I wish you both clear horizons, my good friends. Make it so."

Picard raised his glass.

"The Bride and Groom!"

"The Bride and Groom." The room echoed back as Picard sat back down, tugging his uniform tunic down.

"Short and sweet, just the way you like it." Riker teased Picard "Well done, Jean-Luc."

"That's Captain to you, _Commander."_ Picard remarked with a coy smile "Your promotion doesn't go through for another two weeks."

"Good. It gives you two weeks to get your new First Officer trained." Riker smirked, looking down the table at the gold skinned Android who was making small talk with a pained looking Klingon "I'm surprised Data is staying on the _Enterprise."_

It was true. Data had been offered a position at the Daystrom Institute with Commander Bruce Maddox working on the study of Soong type Androids such as Data, attempting to recreate Data's creator's work. However, when Picard had asked him to step up as Riker's replacement as First Officer of the _Enterprise._

"So where are the two of you off to next?" Picard asked "The _Titan_ must have almost completed it's shakedown by now."

"We're due to receive our orders upon my officially taking Command a week on Tuesday." Riker replied.

"In the meantime, we have a _lovely_ honeymoon booked at the Janaran Falls on Betazed." Deanna chimed in "Thank you for letting us borrow the _Cousteau."_

"What use is a Captain's Yacht if it never gets used?" Picard remarked "Just bring her back in one piece."

"No promises." Riker grinned.

"Captain Picard?" A voice came from the other side of the table, a female Andorian Ensign in a gold trimmed Operations duty uniform spoke "I'm sorry to interrupt sir, but you have a communication from Starfleet Command. Priority one."

"Thank you, Ensign." Picard said with a sigh as he stood up, tugging his uniform tunic down, turning back to Riker and Deanna "Excuse me."

Picard walked through the reception, taking in the sights. He saw Wesley Crusher, back from his travels, chatting with his mother, Beverley, as well as Guinan and Geordie La Forge, regaling them with tales of what he had seen. He saw Data sat with Commander… No, _Ambassador,_ Worf, a glass of blue liquid in front of the Klingon, Worf groaning before he leant forward, resting his ridged forehead on the table while Data looked on with fascination.

Picard smirked to himself. At times, Klingons could drink most species under the table. However, when it came to Romulan Ale, they could not handle their liquor.

He moved around the entrance to the conference area overlooking the archipelago they were at, through to an office set aside for official functions. He took a seat behind the desk before pressing a control, bringing up a holographic monitor with the Starfleet logo before the image of a brown haired woman in an Admiral's uniform appeared.

"Admiral Janeway." Picard said with a small smile "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good afternoon, Jean-Luc." She said, returning the smile "I'm sorry to interrupt the festivities but this is urgent. There have been rumblings of a possible coup on Romulus, and this morning Intelligence operatives determined that Praetor Neral has been assassinated."

"Assassinated?" Picard asked "Do we know who did it?"

"Not yet, but Starfleet Intelligence is working on some theories." Janeway replied "In the meantime, I'm sorry, but we're cutting your shore leave short. _Enterprise_ is being dispatched to the edge of the Neutral Zone along with the 9th fleet in order to show whoever does take over that attempting conflict is a bad idea."

"Who's taken over at the moment?" Picard questioned.

Janeway didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, she spoke up.

"The Romulan military is currently maintaining order with the assistance of the Tal Shiar." She finally spoke "Admiral Tomalak is the interim overseer of Romulus and therefore the Empire. We know you've dealt with him before, and although you may not like one another, there's a respect and working relationship there."

"Understood." Picard nodded "When do we leave?"

"You have 24 hours." Janeway said "Give my best wishes to the happy couple. Janeway out."

The image disappeared. Picard sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew Will and Deanna would quite happily come along on the mission. They'd served together for 15 years and Picard had to admit, given how they'd ended their first year aboard the _Enterprise_ together all those years ago, going to the Neutral Zone one last time felt fitting. However, something was off here.

"Picard to _Enterprise."_ He said, tapping his comm. Badge "I'll be coming back aboard sooner than expected. Please have us ready to depart in the next 18 hours."

…

**Okay, so this is my attempt at a rewrite of Nemesis. I decided to keep the Romulan angle but felt that, given the Nemesis title, it should have an existing antagonist. Please, R&R, tell me if you like it, tell me if you don't, but **_**please, **_**keep any criticism constructive. B.**


End file.
